Haunted
by hoyteca
Summary: Trapped in a maze, Fox can feel himself going insane.
1. the halls

"Show yourself!"

Trapped in a maze if ever-darkening hallways, Fox's mind began slipping into the depths of paranoia. In the dark halls of the decaying structure, Fox was surrounded by sounds. Tiles fell from the ceiling. Walls creaked under the weight of the structure. Footsteps followed the mercenary like hungry predators. All serving only to warp the vulpine's mind.

Blaster drawn, Fox continued on. Whether it was the sounds that haunted his mind or the hunger that haunted his body, Fox knew that time was running out. He had to hurry.

And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was rushing into a trap. The halls, though branching out like a spider's web, seemed to funnel him in one direction. And yet, he continued on without thinking about turning back and trying less suspicious halls.

Fox could feel his grip on reality slipping. The halls seemed to be getting shorter and narrower. They appeared to warp into fantastic shapes and colors, though his hands confirmed that they were as straight and smooth as they ever were. The sounds of roars, gunshots, and screams of fear and agony tore into his eardrums like swords. He could feel the sting of bullets ripping and tearing through his chest and belly, though his eyes and hands confirmed no such wounds.

As exhaustion slowed him down, Fox looked around at his surroundings. Shadows of beasts and men that never were surrounded him. Some wielding claws often holding severed heads and limbs. Others wielding guns and swords that dripped with what Fox thought was blood. They taunted him. They threatened him. They welcomed him.

Finally, his body had had enough. After taking a heavy toll from running, hunger, and insanity, Fox collapsed, slowly drifting into the loving embrace of sleep. In his final moments of dwindling conciousness, the halls returned to their uniform gray colors and straight lines. The haunting sounds quieted down to nothing. The shadows vanished. All he could hear was blissful silence.

And footsteps.


	2. the dream part 1

"Where am I?"

Fox examined the valley his dream produced for him. The green hills, surrounded by snowcapped mountains and divived by a stream, had a few trees that were fed by the bright sun that shared the sky with a few clouds. It was early morning in the dream world and Fox felt happy and full of energy.

And yet, he felt an unnerving presense watching him. He felt surrounded by a single presense. Fox wondered around, trying to pinpoint the presense, but to no avail. The presense was everywhere, yet nowehere at all. It was everyone, yet noone at all. This unnerved Fox more than anything else so far. Then it spoke.

"Do you like it here?"

The voice sounded femenine and caring, almost like a mother speaking softly to her young child.

"Who are you? Where are you? What are you?", Fox asked, his mind filled with a dreadful mixture of fear and curiousity.

The half-second of silence that followed seemed to last a lifetime. Though exceptionally brief, it haunted the vulpine almost as much as the hallucinations that tormented him earlier. Then, the voice spoke once more.

"I exist only in you and your dreams. I see, feel, hear, taste, and smell everything that you do. I know your every thought and memory. It is not important to learn who or what I am, but to learn who and what you are. Lie down underneath that tree behind you. As a traveller of both time and space, the real and the impossible, you must do so now before time runs out. All will be revealed soon."

Lying down beneath the tree, Fox found himself floating in a void of nothingness. His body lit and shadows cast by an unknown light source. Forming below him was a roofless house. Floating closer to it, Fox could see a family of foxes form below him-his family.

"And that's why you never stick your head out the window of a moving vehicle."

The father, still dressed in his flightsuit and jacket, had just finished telling another war story to his wife and son. His son, about four or five years old, clung to his mother's long, pink dress as he tried to remove the scary images from his head.

"Don't worry. The monsters your father fought can't hurt you now."

The young Fox knodded his head, knowing that his mother's words were right.

"Why don't you pick a game for us to play?", suggested his father, hoping to take Fox's mind off the story.

Gleefully, Fox ran to the closet and pulled out his favorite board game. Turning around, Fox couldn't find his parents. Dropping the game, he ran throughout the house, trying in vain to find them. After searching every room, every closet and cabinet, under every bed and cushion, the heartbroken Fox gave up and curled into a ball next to the board game. He cried.....and faded.


	3. Falco

Just as the house faded from view, Fox found himself back under the tree.

"What was the point of that?", Fox asked.

"What point?", answered the voice "Who said anything about a point?"

"Was there a point?", Fox asked calmer than before.

"Sometimes the point is clear. Sometimes there is no point. Sometimes, the point is obscurred. It is the job of whoever wants to know to find out the answer. Lay down under the tree again. With each passing fantasy, the fog begins to lift. Only once it has lifted enough can you find the point. But only if there remains a point to be found."

Fox reluctantly obeyed, hoping to get to the point as soon as possible or at least wake up.

Again, Fox found himself floating in darkness. Soon, Fox found himself in the Great Fox. Falco walked towards him.

"Where were you?", Falco asked.

"Around", Fox answered, having lost all control over his action and words. He could only watch as his body, now on auto-pilot, took care of everything despite whatever objections Fox might have.

"Did you get that package yet?", Fox asked.

"Yeah.", answered Falco with an unnoticed hint of excitement. "Let me show you."

The two walked down the hall and into Falco's room.

"It's still in the box", Falco told Fox, pointing at the box.

Fox look in the box. In it, he found.....nothing.

"Isn't it great?", Falco asked, trying his best to hide his excitement.

"Great?", replied Fox, "It's the best thing I ever saw!"

Best thing he ever saw? Fox couldn't understand the excitement over an empty box. He wanted to ask Falco what was so exciting about the box, but he still had no control over his words.

Eventually, Fox regained control of his body. Fox found Falco staring motionless at the nonexistant contents of the box. Falco stood there, motionless, niether blinking nor breathing. Fox reached over to touch Falco, but found, to his surprise, that his hand went straight through Falco like a foot slowly slipping into a pool of water. Falco's skin rippled gently as Fox tried to understand what was going on. Panicked, Fox fled the room and eventually found Slippy standing in the kitched.

Like Falco before him, Slippy was completely motionless.

Fox reluctantly touched Slippy. Instead of just Slippy rippling like a gently disturbed pool of water, the entire Great Fox began rippling. The rippling quickly became more violent with each passing second. Everything began blending together until Fox found himself inside a rippling blob of what was once the Great Fox.

Like the house before it, the blob faded from view. Fox was left floating alone in the vast dark expanses of nothing.


	4. explore

"What was that?", Fox asked once he once again found himself in the valley.

"What was what?", inquired the voice.

"What just happened.", answered Fox "First, Falco was overjoyed to get an empty box. Then, he and Slippy froze.....only they were like water. When I reached over to touch them, my hand went straight through, causing them to ripple. Then.....then the Great Fox. It was rippling too. Then, it morphed into a blob before fading to nothing."

"And you ask the voice inside your head?", the voice shot back, proudly and curiously.

"Who else am I going to ask? In case you haven't noticed, it's just you and me for as far as the eyes can see."

"Perhaps a walk is in order? You should probably clear your head a bit before you are driven mad."

"Bit late there, chief."

"Am I? If you were truly mad, would you even be aware of it? Maybe you should look around. Hidden around this seemingly empty valley from within your very own mind are mysteries and discoveries to be made. Every blade of grass hides something. Under every rock are more than enough stories to fill any library. But although it is perpetually morning here, there isn't enough time to learn their stories just yet. But what you will find are stories, fantasies of great importance. They are your memories as you now remember them.

Your first fantasy, for instance. Your childhood with the disappointingly cheap ending. Underneath the carpeting, inside the walls, and inside your parents, there lies a hidden significance, a coded message of incredible importance.

The same is true for your second fantasy. It may make no sense, but nothing else makes sense either. Nothing is free from plot holes or illogical sequences of events. Look past the confusion and you will find the answers you seek.

Now go. Explore this valley of yours. Find those answers. Only when you have collected all the pieces to the puzzle can you leave."

Nodding in agreement, Fox started exploring the valley.


	5. Krystal

After what felt like hours, Fox's collapsed onto his knees, his fingers digging into his head as he tried in vain to stand the pain he felt in his head.

The pain quickly grew in intensity, going from a simple headache to feeling like his head was exploding, yet imploding. The pain was slowly warping his mind, changing the landscape around him. The stream flowed with lava as the landscape around him grew barren. The reddening sky was filled with smoke as the trees burst into flames. Fox looked down and found himself standing in a puddle of blood. Lightning flew and thunder roared as the pain Fox felt grew more and more intense. Unable to handle the pain much longer, Fox passed out once more.

In this vision, Fox found himself inside a house. He knew he had never been to a place like this, yet it felt like home. The pictures filled his mind with memories of times that never were, of places that never existed, and of people who were never born.

Fox walked down the stairs and made his way to the dining room. It was morning and his "family" were busy eating breakfast.

"Good morning, dear", his "wife" Krystal said with a smile.

"Morning."

Fox poured a bowl of cereal and started eating. In between bites, he admired his wife and kids. Everything felt right for the first time in years. The grim realities of life were replaced with the happiness of a life he had always wanted. Fox knew that the happiness wouldn't last long.

As he finished his cereal, the walls and floor began to warp as the appliances and furniture began to literally blend into the background.

Fox looked around him to find that his sons and daughters were gone. His surroundings vanished into the dark void he was familiar with. His sobbing "wife" reached out to grab Fox, only to fall deep into the darkness. Alone once more, Fox "woke" to find himself back in the valley. The flames and barren landscape replaced with the grass and trees from before. The pain still lingered, but only as a mild headache. Fox got up and started walking once more.


	6. blood

"Wake up."

The new voice echoed throughout the valley. It was heavily distorted by Fox's loosening grip on reality, yet still felt very familiar.

"Come on. Wake up."

The voice echoed again. Fox had a hard time determining if it was the cry of a worried lover, the command of a parent, or the demand of a friend or rival.

"Wake up, damn it!"

The voice was accompanied by the ground rumbling under Fox's feet. It started out as a gentle rumble, but quickly grew into the shaking of a violent earthquake. The violent motion knocked Fox down and pulverized his insides with each shockwave. Fox could feel his body go numb as each shockwave dulled his senses a bit more. And then the shaking stopped.

Within minutes, Fox regained his senses. The voice had quieted down to an inaudible whisper. Fox enjoyed the silence. It was disturbingly calming at a time when silence had previously torn into his eardrums like the blades of war. Fox relaxed on the soft grass and soon drifted into another fantasy.

Like in the others, Fox found himself floating in the usual void of darkness. Around him, gray walls formed. Opening the door that formed in front of him, Fox found Peppy sitting on a wooden chair. The room was barren, lacking any other door, window, or piece of furniture.

"How was the mission?"

Peppy's voice echoed inside Fox's head, tearing into his brain.

"It went well. How are things?"

The words came out of Fox's mouth with no input from his brain. Like on the Great Fox with Falco, Fox's body was once again on auto-pilot.

"Great."

It became painfully obvious that everything was warping around him again. The walls came closer together while the door literally melted away, leaving only wall. Peppy began losing fat and muscle, leaving a rabbit that looked more and more like a zombie. With control over his body again, Fox turned around to find Bill and Katt standing right in front of him.

"Long time no see."

Bill's voice disturbed Fox. It was too friendly, too optimistic. There was a haunting characteristic to it; something that filled Fox with an uneasy feeling.

"How's Falco?"

Katt's voice was sexy, but no less haunting. Fox was frozen with unexplained horror as the two approached him.

"How was the mission?"

Katt's voice grew creepier. There was definitely something unsettling about Bill and Katt. When Katt placed her hand on Fox's shoulder, he shrieked in pain as the fur under her hand smoldered.

"We never hang out anymore."

Fox backed away as their faces morphed and melted. Right before they could speak once more, Fox turned around to find that the scenery had changed.

Before Fox was a barren landscape. Thunder roared as three figures approached him from the dark, smoky clouds of fog and dust. Fox recognized the trio.

"Long time no see, pup." Wolf spoke with a friendly, yet sinister tone "Where are the others?"

"Maybe they're hiding from us. Maybe they're soiling themselves in terror as they realized they couldn't win this time."

Leon's voice sounded more maniacal than ever.

"What do you want?"

Fox's voice was panicked. He didn't want to see how everything would morph and warp now that Star Wolf was there.

"I said what do you want!"

Fox still got no answer. The trio just stood there, grinning in satisfaction.

"I SAID WHAT DO YOU WANT!"

Lightning struck the ground between them. After Fox's eyes readjusted, he found his hands dripping in blood. Before him stood a cowering Wolf and his two dead companions. With each step Fox took towards Wolf, his hands became bloodier and the corpses became more unrecognizable.

Wolf backed away from Fox as Fox walked closer. Fox could smell Wolf's terror.

Suddenly, Fox found himself floating in the dark void before waking up in the valley again.


	7. awake

"What the hell was that?"

Fox was fustrated. His visions, his fantasies, seemed to be getting stranger and stranger, with the exception of his "family" fantasy. Even the calm valley refused to offer sanctuary from his growing madness, as its stability mirrored the stability of Fox's grip on reality. Looking down at his hands, Fox could see that they still dripped the blood from Leon's and Panther's bodies.

"Why is this happening to me?"

"Wake up."

The distorted voice boomed throughout the valley once more, echoing off of every mountain, hill, and tree. And just as the echoing faded, ghostly eyes stared at him from accross the river. They approached him, shedding visible tears.

"Please, wake up."

The voice was getting louder, tearing into Fox's mind.

"Come on. I need you. We need you. Wake up."

The voice was accompanied by the torturous sound of a person sobbing. Fox hated the valley and it's many fantasies. The perpetual morning haunted Fox more than the twisted visions that tormented him ever since he arrived. He wanted to leave, to arrive in a new place, a place that would not torment him with visions of pain and insanity.

"Don't leave us, not so soon."

The motionless morning sun grew brighter and hotter. Within seconds, Fox was overcome with pain and blindness. The sun grew brighter and brighter until.....

"Fox!"

Waking up, Fox was startled by the blue face that greeted him.

"What happened?"

Fox was left confused by his ordeal. Looking around, Fox found himself laying in a large bed. All around, Fox found the room nearly barren, with the exception of a few clothes on the ground and one or two pictures hanging on the wall.

"Where am I?"

The blue vixen smiled as she came closer and gave Fox a kiss. Wiping a tear from her eye, she gave Fox the answer he was hoping for.

"You're home."


End file.
